Study Confirms: Fox News Creates Alternate Reality On Climate Science

A new study confirms that Fox News systematically paints a distorted picture of climate change, with the effect of worsening political polarization. Published by The International Journal Of Press/Politics, the study examined primetime cable news broadcasts from 2007 and 2008, and found that Fox "discussed climate change most often," but "the tone of its coverage was disproportionately dismissive":

According to the study, "Fox broadcasts were more likely to include statements that challenged the scientific agreement on climate change, undermined the reality of climate change, and questioned its human causes."

Since 2008, Fox's climate coverage has only worsened.

As an internal email revealed, Fox's Washington managing editor Bill Sammon directed Fox journalists in December 2009 to cast doubt on the basic fact that the planet has warmed.

The study also found that Fox hosted "a higher ratio of climate change doubters to believers as interview guests." These guests often don't know what they're talking about but are presented as climate experts. And Fox, a network that has madeanannualtradition out of mocking global warming during winter storms, reveals its bias through both what it chooses to cover, and what it chooses toignore.

Fox News is a loud, popular, and influential network that is reinforcing its viewers misconceptions about climate science. The study concluded that "to the extent that Fox News presents a different view of reality than does CNN or MSNBC, the knowledge and opinions of the networks' respective audiences will likewise tend to polarize."

Indeed, political party is now one of the strongest predictors of whether an individual thinks global warming is real. And the Republican party's stance on climate change has shifted considerably since 2007, when many prominent Republicans acknowledged global warming and called for government action to address the problem.

But the new study indicates that this polarization isn't hopeless, finding that "some Republicans, who as a group tend to be predisposed toward global warming skepticism, are less skeptical when exposed to information on the reality and urgency of climate change."

The question is: When will other news outlets and Fox's parent company News Corp. -- which claims to be concerned about climate change -- hold Fox News accountable for its well documented pattern of inaccurate coverage?

On February 21, CNN will host a town hall on gun violence set to include a wide spectrum of people affected by the Parkland, FL, school shooting. The National Rifle Association was invited to participate and chose to send its national spokesperson, Dana Loesch, to join "students, parents and community members" at the event, breaking with its decision to not participate in a similar 2016 CNN town hall. The NRA’s decision to send Loesch, who is also a far-right conservative commentator with a long history of inflammatory rhetoric, to represent the organization in a town hall discussion about gun safety and legislation that includes survivors of a mass school shooting, clearly demonstrates the extremist, fringe views the NRA has embraced to advance its cause.